Brendan Hughes Comic Reviews

Overall it is a decent start to a new Batman series that would appear to be taking a turn towardthedarker side. It could have used a better villain, but a new take on a formerly boring side enemy is always welcome. This will be Snyder's last run inthecomic realm due to his taking a crack at fixingtheDCEU and he definitely made his presence known in his last go around. Another interesting take away is wondering what role Duke will fill, which is something that probably will be resolved inBatman Rebirth#1 dropping 6/15.

The action is great and is made even better with striking art styling by Stelfreeze once again. The mental attack on T'Challa is probably the best and most important scene as that opens the pathway to the future of the series.

Blue Beetle: Rebirth #1 has restored many great parts of Blue Beetle most notably being the return of Kord. I expect great things from the combo of Giffen and Kolins going forward to provide the best teen hero series in a while even battling Ultimate Spider-Man.

As compared to other series, this one is viewed as a slap in the face to Captain America by some readers; but if you look at the series by itself, it is a solid read and has people guessing not only what will happen next but what Captain America's true intentions may be. Unfortunately, this series will be tied to the Civil War II storyline starting next issue. In case anyone was wondering where the Marvel reviews are, I will be holding off until Civil War II is completely as I find it extremely disappointing.

With this being said, DC couldn't have chosen a better name than Rebirth since that is literally what this relaunch is doing " it is breathing new life into the stagnant New 52. There are countless questions going forward, but that is the case in any comic relaunch for the Universe. It will be exciting to see where this goes, but for right now DC is on the right path.

Great art, a revamped storyline for old favorites, and a collaboration of Hanna-Barbera characters " what's not to love?! Another nice benefit from this comic is that regardless of your background and familiarity with these characters, everyone can get behind it and enjoy a good read!

New Super-Man #1 shows how far comic books have come. They are a global medium that may be enjoyed by all. It is great to see DC branch out and join this globalization trend; however, they trail behind Marvel who has been using this fast-growing market for a decade now with different characters (i.e. Big Hero 6) and anime series. Suffice it to say, with the New Super-Man #1, from Smallville, Kansas to Shanghai it is nice to see the world join together and enjoy a shared medium.

Like many of the other Rebirth series this reverts some the aspects post-The New 52, most notably with Waller's appearance. Overall this is a decent addition to Rebirth and I would look to this going forward as a good series. One downside is the limit of characters in this issue and the missing presence of some of the other notable members. Seemingly, this was a stylistic choice as most of the series revolved around Waller and Flag.

Though not much substance this answers most questions fans were asking heading into this issue. By recapping the previous work it makes it easy for new readers to get into the upcoming series. From penciler to colourist the art is solid or better throughout the series.

While other reviewers might rate higher on this comic, I likely break that trend as my sense is it is merely a rehash of the same old same old. The bottom line for me is it's not great, it's not terrible - I can take it or leave it.